Waiwu (people)
The Waiwu are a people group originating in West Shuret sometime around 400 MA. They descend from the Kadamese, a group of war-like tribes from the northern hills above the High Sumps. Characteristics Appearance The Waiwu have slanted eyes, are thin and of average height. They are dark haired, with hazel, grey, and green eyes. Their skin is generally a deep olive. Temperament patient, wise, stubborn, envious, grudging History Early History and Ethnogenesis The Waiwu descend from the Kadamese, who entered the High Sumps (Kadaman Basin) around 600 BMA, driving the original inhabitants south or killing them. Recent studies suggest that the Kadamese were extremely brutal opponents, savaging whole cities. The Kadamese themselves were originally nomadic, but by 500 BMA, they were settling cities on the steppe. Gradually, they also began to settle the High Sumps, driving out the giant lizards and man-eating razor-billed storks. Between 0 MA and 100 MA, the swamp-dwelling Kadamese spoke a language and practiced a culture different enough that little tied to them to their surrounding Kadamese cousins. Conflict between the swamp-dwelling Kadamese and steppe-dwelling Kadamese was common (as was conflict within each group). In 300 MA, the Arg-Argan invaded the steppes from the same northern hills from which the Kadamese has once come, incorporating many Kadamese towns, especially those of the Jino tribe. By 400 MA, the Waiwu were a distinct people in the region. Ancient The ancient period of the Waiwu extends from ~400 MA (the origin of the Waiwu as a distinct culture) to 943 MA (the Waiwu's defeat by and incorporation into the Empire). Caste System The Waiwu developed a very strict caste society of three levels. The Sheno, a group of perhaps no more than a few hundred, sat at the top of the caste system. Society viewed them as semi-divine, the offspring of the Waiwu totem goddess Shei. Below the Sheno were the Shei-ketai, numbering perhaps in the tens of thousands. These were the servants of Shei and the priests and warriors (divided in the sub-castes of sumiru and baka), whose purpose was to care for and protect the Sheno. At the bottom were the waiwutara: "common folk." The vast majority of Waiwu society (close to 90%) belonged to the waiwutara caste and were the absolute property of Shei and the Sheno and under the care (and command) of the Shei-ketai. They were considered impure, rejected by Shei. The bottom caste farmed fields, fished the rivers, herded animals, and crafted in wood and iron and grass. According to the caste system, these individuals belonged wholly to the Sheno. Theoretically, this caste had no rights: no right to private property, no right to migrate, no right to marry without permission, no right to choose a profession, no right to free worship. Practically, the situation varied from village to village; but, on the whole, the status of the waiwutara was essentially a most oppressive form of serfdom. No caste of skilled craftsmen or merchants existed. However, certain members of the waiwutara caste engaged in skilled labor, including metalsmithing, pottery, woodworking, advanced building construction (including design and architecture), and even medicine. Yet, these skilled laborers were still considered the property of the Sheno and thus beholden to their will and command and control. Economy The geography of the High Sumps inhibited economic development in many of the peoples that lived in the area. The rivers provided little power as they were slow and sluggish. The dense swamp, meandering rivers and seasonal flooding discouraged navigation and riverine trade. Waiwu society inhibited industrial invention. For these reasons, the Waiwu relied on resource gathering and export, such as farming, bog iron collection, and other simple industry. Society * Waiwu use patronymics (signified by the suffix -ka).Waiwu, particularly those from rural areas, don't have proper surnames. Those Waiwu who migrate to areas that require a surname (much of the Empire) often turn their patronymic into their surname or create their own using their town of origin, professional title (Smith), or favorite word as inspiration. * Men and women keep their own patronymics after marriage * Waiwu celebrate Deliverance Day (Do Tatasimaka) at the height of harvest as both a national and religious (Mikadoan) festival. Language The Waiwu speak a Kadamese language. Politics Due to the Waiwu culture's veneration of the Imperial victory over the Shenoan Waiwu nation, the Waiwu are strong loyal to the Empire and the Mikado. Religion The Mikado plays a dominant role in present-day Waiwu cultural myth; the Waiwu are overwhelmingly Mikadoan. Waiwu churches and chapels generally have chimes, given Waiwu affinity for and skill in building chimes, metal and wooden. Music Music is important to the Waiwu. With it comes a strong tradition built in years of oppression under their Shenoan oppressors. List of Musical Instruments * guiro * woodblocks * wooden or quill tubes (kopo) * claves (usually wooden) * quill flute (simi) * balafon * marimba and deriatives Other * Timi-kopo (also, tuka or tukawa) - a single long wooden resonator, sometimes as long as eight feet, with a wooden strike bar (often of shugataki (also called greywood), an incredibly dense wood). It usually is installed with a repeating clapper of sprung wood or a clapper wheel. When struck, it results in a loud, resonant tuka-tuka-tuka-tuka (or, tukawa-tukuwa-tukuwa-tukuwa) in quick succession. It was used very similarly to how bells are used in East Shuret. Today, metal chimes have largely replaced timi-kopos. * Bell-casting was never developed in the West and large bells are heavy and expensive in the High Sumps and therefore never took hold. Moreover, when bells were first brought to the High Sumps by the Church missionaries, the Waiwu disliked the high-pitched clanging the small iron bells produced. Cuisine Waiwu cuisine reflects the swampy environment in which Waiwu culture developed. It relies heavily on vegetables, such as po, gourds, and cabbage, and starch flour (mostly po flour and and the more expensive sweet acorn). Many Waiwu dishes also include pork, shrimp (called yama), and fish. Less-used but uniquely Waiwu ingredients include bogberries, bako (heart of palm), yakitoma (swamp weed). Chicken is popular among eastern Waiwu, usually young as poussin or Cornish hen. Dishes Alcohol The Waiwu brew a very pleasant beer made from po starch, often the rinds and stems left from processing the tuber for other foods. Sedge beer is from the inedible grains of various swamp grasses; the result is popular among the Waiwu, though most foreigners find it over-strong and bitter. A weak mead is made from local honey. And cordials are sometimes made from various fruits and berries, including bogberries, juwip, and swamp dates. Notable Waiwu * Kisu Tomasaka * Senaka (Giruka) Tarunata * Tomasa Giruka * Kata Nerutaka Category:Ethnic Groups